BRITAIN has been battered by the biggest wave in HISTORY - a staggering 75ft monster - just hours before a huge Atlantic superstorm is set to smash into the mainland.

A record wave has just hit Britain but forecasters warn far worse is coming [STEPHAN SLATER]

The largest wave ever seen in British waters was recorded at 3.30am yesterday by a buoy operated by the Plymouth Coastal Observatory at Porthleven, Cornwall.

The beast destroyed the previous record British wave of 67ft and forecasters warned it was only the beginning of 72 hours of storm hell.

It came as experts recommended a TSUNAMI warning system be installed in the Atlantic to protect Britain and Ireland from enormous waves they claimed were 'increasingly likely'.

The UK was battered by 90mph winds and torrential rain again overnight – but by far the most violent storm forecast in recent times is yet to hit with widespread damage and disruption expected in the coming days.

Parts of a key railway line were destroyed and nearly 10,000 homes were left without power as the brutal weather wreaked havoc yesterday.

Police helicopters were scrambled to help evacuate 150 properties in the Somerset flooding danger zone as David Cameron set up a £100million emergency fund to assist communities in coping with the crisis.

Winds of 105mph were recorded on the Isles of Scilly, off Cornwall while one pub in Chesil Beach, Dorset was completely submerged by a giant 60ft wave.

The damage sparked chaos for travellers as First Great Western were forced to halt the busy Penzance-to-Exeter service.

Patrick Hallgate, from Network Rail, said it could take four to six weeks to repair the track, which is the main rail link between south Devon and Cornwall.

Dozens of homes were evacuated across the South West as seawalls crumbled away – and two people trapped in their car had to be dragged to safety by firefighters.

Many thousands of homes in the West Country were left without power. Devon councillor John Clatworthy said it was the “worst damage seen for more than a century”.

He added: “The storm was unbelievable. It is not just Dawlish that is affected, this railway line is to Plymouth, the naval bases, Cornwall – it is a lifeline.”

The monster seas included some of the biggest waves recorded around the world. Swells of up to 75ft were seen off the coast before hitting Penzance in Cornwall.

And waves of 40ft lashed the coast around Sennen, the UK’s most westerly parish.

But forecasters warned that worse is to come over the next few days – with another weather front hurling towards us across the Atlantic at speeds of up to 150mph.

Almost three inches of rain is set to fall in the next 72 hours with forecasters issuing Level-2 severe warnings for torrential downpours across the South every day until Saturday. The main threat from tomorrow comes from a deep Atlantic low-pressure system hurtling towards the UK.

The Met Office has warned it will have a “significant” impact and cautioned people against using coastal paths and roads.

The heavy rain and gales forecast over the next three days look set to worsen the current flooding crisis.

Chief meteorologist Andy Page said: “Further spells of heavy and persistent rain will affect southern parts of England and south Wales from Thursday afternoon until Friday morning, and again from late Friday evening until early Saturday followed by frequent heavy showers.

“Gales will accompany the rain on Saturday with severe gales likely for exposed coasts in south-west England. The public should be prepared for disruption due to flooding.”

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs minister Owen Patterson has faced criticism over his handling of the crisis. But the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “The Secretary of State is doing an excellent job.”

Elsewhere in the UK it was a chillier picture as heavy snow hit Scotland. Glenshee Ski Centre in the southern Cairngorms was buried under 33ft snow drifts – six times deeper than the slopes at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.